Can Someone Talk Me Out Of (or Into) Getting Another Cat?

[UnderneathTheStars]

I'm not sure whether it's a good decision or not. Every time I think about getting a new pet I have this problem of self doubt. So, here is some information about myself and my home. Let me know if you think, based on this honest information, that adding a new cat is a bad idea or if I should go ahead. I fell in love with this cat that needs a home.

I live in a three bedroom home with an upstairs and basement. During the summer, the cats have access to a large screened-in porch with toys and cat trees. During the winter, we move all that stuff into the "mud-room" and that becomes their play room. I make decent money so vet visits, toys, good quality food, etc are not an issue. They are all on a grain-free food (Natural Balance).

I have 5 cats. All rescues. All of them are spayed/neutered (not declawed) and up to date on vaccines. They all get along relatively well although a couple of them just tolerate each other. Whenever there's a health issue, the first thing they do is go to the vet. My last addition, Mochi, is dealing with Chronic diarrhea for which we have had multiple vet visits. She's having a PCR panel done tomorrow and the vet thinks it might actually be IBD. Would adding a new cat make her worse if we do a VERY slow introduction? I'm home a lot despite my hectic career. I do most of my grading, research, etc from home and only go to work for office hours, meetings, and classes. Our house is kept spotless and the litter boxes are scooped twice a day.

Pros:

New kitty who needs a home.
More floof to cuddle.
This cat is actually the sibling of another cat we adopted (who we currently have).

Cons:

I wonder if we would need to add an extra litter box. We currently have two in the basement, two in the mud room, and one upstairs.

I worry that Mochi would be stressed out by the new addition.

Six cats just sounds like a lot, right? Is it hoarding after a certain number of cats?

 

[m3rma1d]

Can you take the new one for a week or two to see how it works?

Hoarding is (among other things) taking on more than can be adequately cared for. I don't think that you need to be worried about that.

 

[UnderneathTheStars]

Unfortunately, I can't . The rescue is quite a few hours away (5 hours). I'm not sure two weeks would be sufficient either as it took my existing cats a month or so to get used to Mochi. If this were an option, it would be a wonderful idea though!

 

[Furballsmom]

Hi! There's at least one member here who has 11 cats, and another with I think seven...As mentioned, it isn't hoarding when all the cats receive vet care, toys, space, love, playtime - you're in a good place regarding that. --Oh, and yes, do add another litter box maybe even two. The suggested number of boxes is one for each cat, plus one more.

By the way, is that dry food? Would you consider adding a different brand to your kitties' menu, maybe some Primal frozen or freeze dried, and/or Instinct by Nature's Variety canned?

Assuming that your situation will not change in the foreseeable future, I think that your idea of a slow intro, plus the new cat being a sibling of one of your other kitties, could work.

You can utilize music to help relax your cats, there's harp music, an app called Relax My Cats, and MusicForCats.com

Also, just in case you aren't already familiar, there's this website;
IBDKitties – Helping Save Lives…One Paw at a Time

Let us know how things go

 

[UnderneathTheStars]

Furballsmom, thank you so much!

I should have expanded on the whole food thing. They get free-feed grain-free Natural Balance (dry). Two females won't touch wet food. I've tried SO many things. Different brands, different textures and flavours, heating it up, cooling it down, cutting it into cubes, raw, freeze-dried raw, scheduled feedings, etc. Nothing. One of the males gets two helpings of wet per day and the oldest (the one with possible IBD) hates dry food. So, she is on a grain-free wet food only.

Do you have any advice (maybe something I haven't tried before) to get those two picky females to try wet food?

 

[Furballsmom]

Hmmm -
Let me post my list of toppers/enticements, maybe there will be something your two oh-so-stubborn-yet-oh-so-loveable creatures will go for

(By the way, I've been seeing that some people are using nutritional yeast but I've read that too much of it can increase the uric acid/cause kidney problems, so I'm a bit wary of that one).

Try making one of these - double-check with your vet regarding any of these things just to be sure;
Kitten Glop Recipes - Supplementing Cats and Kittens with nutritious formula you make at home: presented by Bengal Cat breeder Foothill Felines. --This website has a number of kitten glop recipes, with ingredients that you may very well have in your house.

These can be used on their own or combined with food. Also, if you heat the food a little - stir it so there aren't any hot spots from the microwave. Or you could heat some water, about a tablespoon, and add that to canned food. A small glass works to stir it all up.

• Chicken, beef or ham flavored baby food such as Gerber Stage 2 - make sure there is no garlic or onions in the ingredients

• Tuna and/or the juice, a low mercury/low/no sodium brand is called SafeCatch

• Salmon, mackerel

• Sardines (make sure there are no bones)

• boiled cut up chicken or turkey with no seasonings

• canned kitten food any brand - it's usually smelly. See if it's eaten on its own, then maybe mix it in or put on top

• Try mixing in Kitten Milk Replacer - there are recipes on the internet or store bought

• Fish, tuna or BBQ flavored canned wet food (I personally have never seen BBQ flavors, but...)

• Lickable cat treats or pouch treat 'gravy' poured over the food

• kitten glop (recipes in website link above)
• Bonito flakes
• fortiflora
• fish oil
• green beans, asparagus mushed up

• goat milk, or no lactose cow milk
• whole cooked eggs (the white must always be cooked) or raw egg yolk now and then
• broth with no salt and no garlic or onion or seasonings of any kind
• There are also commercial toppers, Applaws is a brand that can work well as a topper
  
• Some good treats would be freeze dried Purebites, Orijen, Meowtinis, Meowables

• There are also Lickimats that you could spread types of soft food onto, even plain unflavored yogurt, and even freeze it. Licking something can help a cat to feel better emotionally The LickiMat - Food Puzzles for Cats
• shredded cheddar cheese

 

[Summercats]

For indoor cats, I would stick at the current number. Too many and the cats can be stressed. Five is a decent number for a house, I would leave it at that.

 

[rubysmama]

Since I only have 1 cat, I'm totally the wrong person to be trying to help you decide to adopt another cat. Unless, of course, you really don't want to.

I'm happy with just my Ruby, and I'm 99% sure she happy being her mama's only cat.

One thing to totally keep in mind, is that sometimes cat introductions take a long time. Or don't ever work out. Though I think I've read that the more cats in the household, the easier it is to add another to the mix. So that might be in your favour.

There's at least one member here who has 11 cats

I believe that would be 1CatOverTheLine

About litter boxes, the "rule" is one per cat, plus one, so with 6 cats, 7 would be the recommendation. But might not actually be necessary, especially if your cats don't mind sharing litter boxes.

Good luck making the decision. Let us know what you decide.

 

[kittyluv387]

I have 3 cats and already think it's too many! So 6 sounds like too many, even for a house. But it's really up to you. You're financially able to care for them so that's great already. Whats the sqft of your house? There's a big differenxe between a 1500sqft vs 2000+.

Btw have you tried raw for your ibd cat? My cat had chronic diarrhea before until raw food cured it.

 

[UnderneathTheStars]

I haven't tried raw! Mostly because I'm scared I'll mess up and she won't get the nutrients she needs or she won't get the calories she needs to start putting on weight. I'll have to get back to you on the sqft of my house as I'm not sure what it is exactly.

 

[1CatOverTheLine]

Six cats just sounds like a lot, right? Is it hoarding after a certain number of cats?

U UnderneathTheStars - I'm sorry to be the spoiler, but you need another cat, and what's far more important, is point number one on your "Pros" list: "New kitty who needs a home."

You're clearly responsible, and hoarding - no matter the number - generally is the province of an irresponsible owner.

Caveat: no one has ever pointed to me and said, "look - there's the brightest knife in the old light socket."

I have eleven cats currently in an eight bedroom, 5200 square foot home. I've had twice that number and more when socialising TNRs because I don't believe in release when - with a little time and effort - former ferals can fit into a Forever Home, where they'll be waited on hand and foot by people exactly like you.

Suggestion: talk with some (responsible) cat owners with twenty or more cats - TCS members like @Norachan Jcatbird and @JamesCalifornia and get their views regarding multiple-cat households.

There's a certain almost magical tipping point with any clowder when it grows large enough that allows a new cat to become a part of the Family nearly seamlessly. I've found that with seven or more kitties, that newcomers are simply expected, and welcomed with great ease. Cats are, by and large, more logical than Humans - and they have a singular quality which allows them to coexist with one another, and with their Human Family as well - they have the ability to Love without reservation.

Six cats? Easy peasy. Eleven cats? A little more work, but worth every moment of it. Twenty-two cats? Ask @Norachan - but the answer will be that she wouldn't part with a single one - and hers, like mine, and almost exclusively former ferals. TNRing, socialising and adopting out a hundred cats in one sweeping motion? Ask Jcatbird and she'll tell you that it was worth every minute.

New kitty who needs a home? Not. Any More.
.

 

[kittyluv387]

I do commercial raw!

 

[kristenann]

We currently share our home with 4 residents and for awhile with various fosters we were up to 7. As long as you have the resources for it I'd say go for it!

 

[Furballsmom]

If you're not comfortable making that leap into home made raw, you don't need to. Maybe later

 

[Jcatbird]

I just have to weigh in here. Would you consider coming here to live? I could share my 29! Spotless house!?!?!? Can take care of six?!?!? Five litter boxes?!?!?! Considering cat number six?!?!? I love you! Lol
In all seriousness, adding a cat is a very personal decision. It isn’t something anyone should have to be talked into or out of. It should be your own decision. It does sound like you have seriously considered all the angles. I really feel like you already have a good idea of where your heart lies. You say that the kitty is one you love, needs a home, is a sibling to one you already have and you can manage responsible care. Hmmmm.
IMHO Your major concern is the cat with digestive trouble. Michu should be figured into this. As someone who juggles many cats with many issues I can understand that concern. I can tell you that the two kitties I have with the most issues have actually been helped by having other cats around. Especially my older female. They appear to draw from the others as a support system. I do take great care when it comes to introducing a new cat to my cats. I make sure that every cat feels fully loved and appreciated. No one cat is favored over the others. If one demands more time due to health issues then I must counter that by giving quality time to the others. Intense love and play time is very important to physical and mental health. It can be demanding when you reach the numbers in my home. I have a constant number that have been here over the past eleven years but at the moment there are 29 as of last night. ( I do rescues and socialization which can keep a cat here a few weeks to many months if not permanently) 71 Others have passed through here in just under a year. Would I have kept all of the 100? No! As a lifetime commitment I could not have been a responsible parent at that number for the next twenty plus years. To have an extra dozen plus added to mine at a time, it can be managed with commitment. I am saving abandoned and feral kitties and hoping for other cat loving people who can manage responsible cat parenting to help me save cats by adopting. I will ,selfishly ,admit that I need people just like you to step up and do what they can to love and care for another kitty. I wish I knew a lot more people like you right now. I have a four bedroom plus bonus room house. When my numbers were at their highest I also utilized a mobile home. I have 30 plus litter boxes! Most are in a separate utility room. If I only had six cats here I think I would have way too much time on my hands. Many of the 29 I have now will be going up for adoption when they are ready but the ones who do not find a person like you will stay here. If you have read all this and still find that your heart pulls you to that kitty then I guess you have made your decision. I’ll be very curious to know if the kitty comes to live with you. Please let us know. BTW, we love photos of all kitties. Good luck in making your decision. We all wish the best for you and your fur babies whether you have five or six.

 

[1CatOverTheLine]

Would I have kept all of the 100? No!

Jcatbird - I certainly hear you, my Friend; I'd never have kept all of mine either. I might have kept 98 of 99, but... well... you know. Snowshoe.

.

 

[Jcatbird]

Omg! I should tell you that I cannot type well on this phone. I was pulled back here to smile at Snowshoe and the great posts when I scanned back and saw I mis typed Mochi! Please forgive me Mochi! Humans are much more prone to error than cats. My humble apologies!

 

[segelkatt]

I have had as many as 7 cats (not kittens) in a 2 bdr, 1050 sqft apartment with no problems. Most got along fine and even cuddled, some just tolerated each other. I had 2 litter boxes and 1 Litter Robot and they all got scooped twice a day, no stink.

here are 4 of them and a bunch of stuffed animals

the all-black is another I had at the same time

the red and the grey tiger at the very bottom were two more

 

[5starcathotel]

I apologize I did not read the whole thread....but.....I am single man with 4 cats (which is, at least 2 more than most people think is acceptable, before it becomes weird). And mine are all formerly ferals.

For me the 'hording' question is...are you at the point of giving up? Are you just throwing down bags of food and litter, and resigning yourself to living just certain rooms of your house? From your post, I think the answer is...not even close!

My only other question is.....does caring for your cats prevent you from doing other things you would really like to do? Like visiting family, or having visitors? This is a problem for me today, which is why I know I am at my limit.

 

[Resigned]

It sounds like you are a professor. They are supposed to be slightly eccentric, so you can have as many as you are willing and able to take care of. There is an accounting professor at South Carolina with like 27 ducks. I want to be her BFF.

Ok, so I really have no clue. My one cat overwhelms me at times. But anyways, I'm a year or two away from graduating with a Ph.D in one of the few fields that will most certainly land me an academic job, so I saw your post and I'm like "This will be me in a few years, except with bunnies instead of cats" lol!